I love talking to people. That might be what makes being a journalist so much fun for me. When my Digital Journalism II professor, Herbert Lowe, assigned Brynne Ramella and me a story about a community garden called the Cluster II Grow and Play Lot, I wasn't sure how many interesting people I would get to meet. I could not have been more wrong.
We met Roberta Lyles, one of the founders of the community garden, who can be described in two words: spitfire and old school. She invests herself in the children she works with in the grow and play lot and works to ensure that it remains in tact, personally kicking out drug dealers or litterers.
We met Mary Beth Driscoll, the bubbly and passionate executive director of Groundwork Milwaukee, the organization that partnered with Lyles and Donna Handel to create the garden. She has made it her mission to implement gardens in the inner city of Milwaukee, doing it all with a radiant smile on her face.
We met Dave Mangin, the operations manager of Groundwork Milwaukee's gardens that span across the city. He keeps the garden clean and infuses his knowledge of environmental alternatives with the community gardens to create a more efficient space.
We met Antoine Walker, the outreach coordinator of Groundwork Milwaukee. He reaches out to people in Milwaukee to get them to volunteer on all of the gardens, bringing his infectious enthusiasm to each and every project.
Roberta Lyles told us, "People say this is the ghetto. No, it's not a ghetto. This is a community." If I learned one thing from this project it is that a community is not created and nurtured by street signs or white picket fences. It is the dedication and love of people like these four that create a community that makes a difference for its residents.
We met Mary Beth Driscoll, the bubbly and passionate executive director of Groundwork Milwaukee, the organization that partnered with Lyles and Donna Handel to create the garden. She has made it her mission to implement gardens in the inner city of Milwaukee, doing it all with a radiant smile on her face.
We met Dave Mangin, the operations manager of Groundwork Milwaukee's gardens that span across the city. He keeps the garden clean and infuses his knowledge of environmental alternatives with the community gardens to create a more efficient space.
We met Antoine Walker, the outreach coordinator of Groundwork Milwaukee. He reaches out to people in Milwaukee to get them to volunteer on all of the gardens, bringing his infectious enthusiasm to each and every project.
Roberta Lyles told us, "People say this is the ghetto. No, it's not a ghetto. This is a community." If I learned one thing from this project it is that a community is not created and nurtured by street signs or white picket fences. It is the dedication and love of people like these four that create a community that makes a difference for its residents.